05 June 2010 (gig)
06 June 2010
This was Little Walters last gig at the St Albans Maltings and, seeing as how all the previous gigs have been well supported and varied, Kyla Brox was a great way to sign off for Jeff & Mick.
She is a singer of real depth and her band is superb and a close-to-capacity venue was treated to two sets that showed just how good modern British R&B and Blues can be.
With husband Danny Blomeley on bass, Tony Marshall on saxes, Phil Considine on drums and Jon Mambo on guitar they played a couple of sets touching on Blues, Memphis soul, Jazz and a very modern take on R&B and I don’t think that there was a single moment when my entire attention was anywhere but on the stage – as a band the four guys are talented but with Ms Brox as a figurehead they were superb.
The band versions of ‘Don’t Change Horses in The Middle Of The Stream’, the old Tower of Power blaster, and ‘Too Young To Care’ were sassy, funky and huge fun and the real solo stuff like ‘Gone’ or ‘You Said You’d Be My Sunshine’ tore at the listeners soul and showed just what a great voice she possesses.
Songs like ‘Grey Sky Blue’ and ‘’Guilty’ showed that she has a fine handle on writing a song but she happily acknowledged her influences such as Sugar Pie Dos Santos and Nina Simone and really did justice to them both with classic renditions.
For me the best number of the whole evening was 'Kasbah', a really jazzy and funky workout that really brought home how good the band is together.
The second set beginning with just Kyla Brox and Danny Blomeley – this time playing acoustic guitar – created a very intimate atmosphere but it was when she brought out the whole band that she brought the audience right back into the music and in the end the hoots and hollers for an encore were very well deserved.
Kyla is absolutely not just the daughter of a great British Bluesman, she has her own abilities and she has developed them over a good few years. She isn’t a regular in the South but I would be more than willing to travel to see her again: top class and a fitting end to a fine Blues club.
Picture courtesy of Graham Reader
